Training at College of Charleston

Scott Nesbitt, Michael Meehan, and Erin Heffron of QPS spent a week in Charleston, South Carolina providing free training on the streamlined QINSy-Fledermaus workflow in support of the College of Charleston Seafloor Mapping and Data Visualization course taught by Dr. Scott Harris. Twelve students participated, opting to spend their spring break in the harbor and classroom rather than relaxing on a beach. The week started with technical instruction in QINSy and a short survey in the Mt. Pleasant Range portion of the harbor. Scott Nesbitt led the students through the QINSy set up before sending them out to collect data with Michael Meehan aboard the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) M/V Evans; the USACE Charleston District provided the vessel and crew. Michael and the students used QINSy to collect Reson 7125 multibeam bathymetry and backscatter. This data was then brought back to the classroom, where the students learned how to conduct a patch test and apply the corrections to the entire dataset. Students were then introduced to different QC/QA display options available while replaying the data with some focus on comparing the grid they collected in replay to the 95% Confidence Level sounding grid that was collected on the vessel. Corrected data was taken into Qloud for cleaning out of spikes and outliers. The bathymetric and backscatter data then moved directly into the Fledermaus software for exploration of the editing options in the Fledermaus 3D Editor, backscatter processing in FMGeocoder Toolbox, and creation of visualizations, movies and other products in Fledermaus. Finally, the data was transferred to ArcGIS using the Fledermaus FMGIS integration, where students learned how to generate a final map of their efforts. The week was a great demonstration of a full workflow from survey set-up through product creation and archiving. Dr. Harris appreciated how the experience helped build the students resume: “Having the experts from QPS working so closely with our students provided an excellent link in their undergraduate education towards their productivity now and in the future. A working knowledge of the workflow of the QPS suite from acquisition in QINSy through processing in Qloud and Fledermaus makes our students more employable and a larger asset in the workforce.” The Fledermaus software has been used in the academic earth sciences community since its beginnings almost 20 years ago, and this has resulted in a number of important partnerships with leading institutions. QPS is committed to ensuring that the program continues to evolve and is extended to more universities and research institutions. The data collection and training effort were covered by several local news agencies; see the links below for articles and press video, as well as to a fly-through movie of the data that was created using Fledermaus.

Link to Post and Courier:

Image 1: Backscatter and bathymetric data collected by QPS, USACE, and students during the class, as viewed in QINSy.Image 2: Bathymetric data, nautical chart, and aerial image of the data as viewed in Fledermaus.Image 3: Michael Meehan of QPS explaining set-up and acquisition to students aboard the USACE M/V Evans.